This Sunday, June 9th is the 18th edition of the S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival in St. Catharines, Ontario, and once again Punknews.org is thrilled to be a sponsor. This year we're particularly excited as the stage at Mikado has been branded the Punknews.org stage and features some of our favourite up and coming punk bands from Ontario and beyond. Speaking as myself, this is my local festival and it's an honour to be a part of it and expose it to the wider Org audience.

S.C.E.N.E. is a multi-venue festival with over 140 acts from varying genres performing throughout the day, and as such it can be a radically different experience depending on how you choose your adventure. Leaving some space for merch shopping and late night musical discoveries, here's my schedule. Click below for a sampling of music from the bands playing the Fest who I'll be singing along to. It includes some emerging Toronto punk rock from bands like Pkew Pkew Pkew (Gunshots), Bathurst, Brutal Youth and Careers in Science. Powerful roots rock and roll from Saskatchewan's Northcote is sure to appeal to the Revival Tour crowd. You'll find energetic folk-punk from Permanent Bastards, veteran street level stuff from The Class Assassins and a token American act in the form of Buffalo's rising stars Pentimento. Of course I've included my favourite live act The Dirty Nil, the caustic and insanely talented Single Mothers, and the headlining hardcore institution Comeback Kid.

While you're in town you should of course grab a craft beer or two at the Merchant Ale House and keep your caffeine levels up at the Mahtay Cafe, but any local would tell you that. The full S.C.E.N.E. band list and schedule can be found here and tickets will be available at the Market Square gate.

No disrespect but this does seem like a very lame festival. I know you guy/gals/buzz are sponsoring the event. But from what I seen lineup wise,there just nothing to scream about. There are so many bands playing this festival and i'm sorry but the appeal is just not there in my eyes. if it is a fest and the SCENE title of it all makes it a Ontario scensters gig, well i must say Ontario has a horrible scence, I'm sorry no disrespect I hate to be out there if this is the census on what people into. But I'm also not one for scenes in genereal. I come from Philadelphia that has a very active scene and while I love the fact so many bands come to my town.I have made some great friends over the years because of Philadelphia and how active it is in the punk community, bu the Philadelphia Punk scene is a joke. I look at the punk community and the punk scene as two different worlds. And the philadelphia punk scene is filled with hmmmmmmmm let me put it like this, you know how some cities and the punk communities can't stand crust punks and they become the cancer of the punk community in many cities. well imagine Philadelphia having a set of people as bad as crust punks but they are all in uniform. They are the ones who go to shows for the social aspect and have no love what so ever for punk music. I know many of you know the type i'm talking about. But there are also the ones who love the music, and go to any and every show but never even check out the band who is playing, then has the nerve to go up to the band put on a front and tel them how good they were,lol. thats always the highlight of some nights. i have called many out on this, and get the smug reply.
Anyone from Philly ever go to the Barbary for a show and meet those who show up after the show? Or meet the ones who hangout at the bar upstair. you know the ones in there 20's some in there 30's with the GBH,Addicts oatches on there DIY jackets and have the nerve to knock on people because there there for a show that dear landlord and the Copyrights playing. What gets me even more is the fake girls in the scene. i always noticed the girls who are into say the pop-punk ramonecore style are so in love with music and are the ones you see at shows having fun. They are the rare breed of girls i can find today that are in there 30's and have a true love and passion for music and a punk life style(the ones joe Queer sings about)"PunkRock Girls" and well thrn you have the other girls who have all those tats, the hair, and well when you strike a convo with them about music they seem to have no clue. They seem to be the beautoes of the scene but as i said community and the scene 2 different worlds. It like high school and the kool kids and the outsiders. I have talked to many of my friends who tour and have been for 10,20,etc years and they all agree about the two worlds. But hey if the scene is your thing, I guess you made a better choice then grabbing glow sticks and popping your fist in the air. go go go.
But I really hope for those of you going to this fest for the love of music have a good time. if your going with a blind eye to explore and discover new music, hope you discover something new and have a blast. And to those of you going for the scene aspect, i hope you fucking have a horrible time,you all make me sick. your a cancer to the punk community.

" what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Seriously man though this isn't the place to be airing out your emotional baggage as it relates to your community/scene. No this fest isn't indicative of the cream of the Ontario or even Canadian crop it is cool however that there are cats in a town like St. Catherines (which to be fair is nowhere comparable in size and scale to Philly) get together and try and put something like this on. It's not your thing great then quit bitching about something that doesn't concern/effect you......Oh wait no I forgot this is the internet I forgot everyone should have an opinion on everything my bad carry on.

P.S. you do make some valid gripes about punk/community scenes in general and the people that propagate them but thought I needed to push back having made broad sweeping generalizations about my province. Possibly Ottawa Explosion has a line up more so up your ally http://ottawaexplosion.blogspot.ca/. And even at that it is nowhere near indicative of what people are into besides the people who organize and attend it.

Hey no gripes pal. I did ramble and could have done a better job using the English language to express my thought process,but when you been up close to 24 hours,shot 3 bags of heroine, drank close to 20 some shitty miller high life's it will lead you to rambling. I wanted to try and express my view on the punk community vs the scene that is all.I should have went to the Face to Face, Teenage Bottlerocket show last night, but you seen what I spent my money on, but no shame in my game. Ah you talked about trying to get a festival of this size together and welI i'm actually in the works with one. it's going top be a Lookout Records Family reunion type of deal. Have some backing already. Going to start a kick starter campaign to fund it all. Wish me luck on the adventure, but it still in the works and I'm going to need some help from a few pals of mine who Lookout Alumni. Trust me when i work on that will be on my sober time,and yes i did come across on a insane ramble and sure when i wake today and read it i will luag hard and shake my head or get a call laughing by one of my pals who read it. But let me zip it and get some rest. i really do enjoy those who attend have a good time, but I'm sorry you know there will be more people there for the wrong reasons and thats what makes me sick.b Whogivesafuck,rite I'm almost 99.9% sure the admin will delete the post anyway,so.

Not to waste the premise for your rant, but it's called S.C.E.N.E. in this case is short for "St. Catharines Event for New Music Entertainment." If the town wasn't called that this event would have have a different name.

Yes, man from Philly; make silly assumptions about a scene you're not apart of. As somebody from Ontario I can tell you that we do have a great scene. To be completely honest, this place is like orgcore heaven with a few other interesting bands thrown in.